Box dismembering machine



Feb. 4? 193,6.

. L. MANN Box DISMEMBERING MACHINE Filed July 25, 1954 4-sheets-sheer 1 l INVENTo 4, 1936.1 L, MANN 2,029,885

BOX DISMEMBERING MACHINE Filed July 25, 1.934 4v Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNE'Y Fell 4 1935- L. MANN 2,029,88

BOX DISMEMBERING MACHINE Filed July 25, 1954 4' sheets-sheet 3 llnoxl! llllllolloll lNvENToR ATTORNEY Feb. 4, M36, fl... MANN BOX DISMEMBERING MACHINE Filed July 25, 1954 4 Sheets-SheetV 4 lNvr-:NToR

ArToRNEY' Patented Fel). 4, 1936 j UNITED STATES PATENT FFQE BOX DISMEll/[BERING MACHINE Leon Mann, Mount Vernon, N. Y.

Application July 25, 1934, Serial No. 736,864

13 Claims. (Cl. 25d-124) The improvements relate to means for dismem- Fig. 3 is a perspective of an egg case such as bering or disintegrating boxes, cases and the like the mechanism shown is adapted to operate on; so that they may be stored and shipped, knocked Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the crate of Fig. 3 down and reassembled for re-use. They may, inverted and of the dismembering mechanism on however, be used for other purposes to which which it has been placed while in this position; y, they are adaptable. The primary object and pur- Fig, 5 is an enlarged detail in perspective of pose of the improvements is to provide mechaa fragment of one of the toggle operating posts nism of enicient and durable construction and and paltS 0n Which it iS Inollnted, the post becertain operation for dismembering egg cases and ing Shown Separated from Said parte;

m the like after their tops have been removed and Fg- 6 iS an enlarged detail in perspective 0f one lo the contents disposed of, so that these cases- 0f the box top and nail drawing and spreading many millions of which are used annually in the ClaWS;

United States-can be stored and shipped back Fig. 7 is a similar view of a similar claw for opto distant points where eggs are to be packed, erating on the sides of the box and their nails;

from the localities in which the eggs are sold to Fig. 8 iS a plan 0i a bOX or CaSe partly diS- 'i5 the ultimate consumer. membered, with the dismembering mechanism The advantages of the improvements will be within the same shown in dotted lines so far as recognized by those familiar with the packing such mechanism is concealed by the said case. and shipment of eggs in cases or crates, the prin- Fig. 9 iS an enlarged detail of one 0f the Sepago cipal item of which is the saving in storage and rating and nail drawing tcctli members With transportation costs, which are in most cases so fragments 0f the CaSe Showing the teeth entergreat as to render such storage and transportaing between the bOX parte and engaging the tionof the empty cases in their original set up nails;

condition prohibitive. Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail of one of the operg5 The standard cases of this character are of uniating toggleS? 25 form size, adapted to contain thirty dozen eggs Fig 11 iS an enlarged detail Showing One of in their packing, and consists of top, bottom, the rod bearings in a cam slot by which the rod sides, ends and middle partition. The ends and iS cal-leed to reciprocate. middle partition are made of heavier board than The details of construction and operation 0f :zo the sides, top and bottom, and the 1atter are the illustrated embodiment as herein'described 30 nailed to them but not to one another, The re.. will be varied to adapt the improvements to boxes tailer who sells the eggs removes the top of the or caSeS of CliTel'ent SiZeS and loroportone and case and the nails, disposes ci the contents of the also to meet Conditions arising from differences case, but leaves the remaining parts intact-, T0 in the materials and methods employed in manudismember or knock down this case by hand is faeturine them. without departing from the scope an operation involving considerable labor and of the present improvements. Modifications in damage to the parts of the case, and therefore the details of construction and arrangement may involves an expenseiwhich in many cases renders also be made in the illustrated embodiment Withthis operation unprotable. With the present in tneScope of Said improvements.

40 improvements the case from which the top has The boX diemernbering nead on Which the lccX 4,0

been removed can be dismembered or disinteor caSe iS t0 be placed in inverted position corn-V grated and reduced to knock-down condition by prises essentially pull rods l, 2, 3, e, for longitudia simple and effective machine operation involvnal movement of the parts and similar rods 5, S, ing a relatively small amount of labor and l, 8, for lateral Incl/ement- POStS 9, iti, lly l2,

power-if power be used-so that the cases can are mounted for both longitudinal and lateral 45 be dismembered, stored and shipped to distant movement and are connected at their tops by y points in knocked down condition and sold for cross members I5, it, I1 and I8, and the said re-use at a substantial prot. posts and cross members carry projecting double The improvements are illustrated in the actooth members I9, 20, ZI, 22, 23, 2li, 25, 26, and

5o companying drawings, referred to herein, in toggle bars 2l, 23, 29, St, 3| and 32 are connected 50 whichwith the pull rods and the posts. The pull rods Fig. 1 is an assembly of a box or a case disare mountedinsleeves 33, 34, 35, 36, 3l and 38, 33 membering mechanism in perspective; and 34 beingmounted on longitudinal horizontal Fig. 2 isa perspective of operating mechanism bottom strips 39 and All and sleeves 35 to 38, in- A5,5V` therefor; clusive, on similar cross strips 4l, 42, 43 and 44. 5,5

The eight posts S, Hl, ll and I2 are provided with tongues i3 (see Fig. 5) in their bottoms positioned in slots 39 and Ml in the ends of the longitudinal bottom members, so as to be held against independent lateral movement, and the ends of the bottom crossmembers di, 42, d3 and it are stepped as shown at t2', ed' so that the ends of the members 39 and l0 resting thereon will be held against inward lateral movement beyond normal position. This arrangement permits the eight corner posts to have longitudinal movement and also lateral movement under` the pressure or pull of the toggle bars outwardly and inwardly to a limited extent, and the outward and inward lateral movement carrying with them the members 39 and it, for the purpose of thrusting the beveled teeth in between the ends and middle partition of the case and the sides and between them and the inverted bottom, in proximity to the nails by which these parts are secured, sor that the said parts of the case will be moved apart to a limited extent and the nails partly drawn. To permit the required vertical movement of the toggle bars the sleeves 33 to B, inclusive are provided with vertical slots l@ through which the said toggle bars pass near their ends which are secured to the pull rods and the posts arey also provided with tapering slots lli' into which said bars are inserted, the said bars being connected to the rods by means of a stout pin 2? (see Fig. 4) passing through them and through the rods, and to the posts by other pins 9 passing therethrough.

The egg case to be dismembered by the mechanism shown as an illustrative embodiment of the improvements is a standard case (Fig. 3) slightly in excess of 12 inches in height and width and somewhat more than double that in length, con.- sisting of sides d5, ends 455 and a middle partition 4l, a bottom @.8 and a top (not shown). It is also usually provided with batten strips i9 at top and bottom of its ends on the outside. These c ases are usually made up by nailing sides, top and bottofmto the ends and middle partition, the said ends and partition being of about fths inch board and the sides, top and bottom of about the inch material. Usually there are six horizontal nails driven at equal distances to secure the: sides vto the edges of the ends and partition and six similar vertical nails driven in like manner tosecure the bottom to the said ends and partitions. The tops of the case having been removed before the contents of the case have been disposed of, the case when it is to be dismembered and reduced to knock-down condition is without a top or cover, and such top or cover therefore is not one of the parts to be operated on. The nails employed are usually 7/gths wire nails with approximately a quarter inch of the shank next to the head serrated. The operation of dismembering the case therefore requires movements of slightly less than 10/ l6ths or 5Agths of an inch. But as the sides and bottom of the box are of light material, and the nails are driven into the ends and partitions more than half an inch it is not feasible to remove the said sides and bottom by pressure against such parts, without irst starting and partly drawing the nails. Therefore, it is necessary to employ the beveled teeth to start and partly draw the nails before the said sides and bottom can be removed.

The teeth lg to 26, inclusive, are of peculiar shape and mounted in a peculiar way to perform their functions. The said tooth members 23 to 26, inclusive are thicker at their inner portion than the similar members I9 to 22, inclusive (see Figs. 6 and 7) and are therefore tapered more steeply toward their points or prongs 26 and 22. The reason for this provision is that the former group of members are relied upon to draw the nails securing the bottom of the case to the ends and middle partition to a greater extent than the latter, and to such an extent that after the sides have been removed there will be little difficulty in removing the bottom by hand or by means of some convenient hand implement or other device, whereas the sides are removed by the lateral movement of the posts and tooth members in contact therewith, after the teeth have been forced home by the longitudinal movement of the vertical posts and their connecting cross members. The outer sides of the tooth members are plane and the inner sides beveled or tapered outwardly, so that they will act on the principle of the inclined plane in separating the parts between` which they are forced and drawing the nails.

These members are also provided with crotches 26 and 22" so that they have two prongs each and so that each nail will be seated in the bottom of a crotch and its head prevented from slipping pa-st the teeth and pulling through the side or top as it is drawn. If, however, the nails have not been accurately positioned in driving them the oscillating movement of the tooth members will permit them to engage the nails in the manner described. Six tooth members have been provided for each nailed end and middle portion of sides and bottom, one member for each nail, but the number may be increased if a greater number of nails are used or the nails driven irregularly. Those for engaging the nails of the middle partition are alternated, three being mounted on each of the posts l@ and H and three on each of the cross members 6 and Il, so that the pressure will be substantially equal on the two sides of` the said middle partition.

Lateral oscillatory movement of the tooth members is permitted by a substantially U-shaped spring 5!! located in each recess 52 of the posts and top cross members in which the inner ends of the said tooth members are positioned and held by pivot pins 5E. The recesses are larger than the inner ends of the tooth members, and

the space between them lled by the spring 5U,

so that if the said members have been rocked or oscillated on their pivots in being forced home they will by the action of the said spring be returned to normal position when withdrawn. The

depth of the recesses 52 is such that the flat side i of each tooth member is substantially flush with the outer surface of the part in which it is positioned, and so that the said flat surface and the surface of said part will both press against the inner wall of the case. It will be understood that the size and form of the tooth members and adjacent parts and their arrangement may be varied to suit varying conditions in the portions of the box or case upon which they are designed to operate.

In order to facilitate the placing of the case on the dismembering mechanism the upper ends of the posts are beveled, as shown at l2', and a leaf spring 53 is inserted between each top cross member and the tops of the adjacent posts, so

that the posts can yield slightly if it is necessary to force a case thereon. The connection between the posts and these top cross members comprises a bead I2 at the top of the post and a bead I8'. on the said cross member aligned therewith, and

horizontal. U-shaped guides` 54 secured to the posts, receiving said beads and holding them in slidable engagement.

In operation the case is inverted and placed over the dismembering mechanism, as shown in Fig. 4, with the middle partition of the case between the posts l0 and Il. To hold the Vcase accurately in position while being operated on, guides 55 are provided for the bottom edges. of the partition and 56 for the bottom edges of the ends of the case. The pull rods I, 2, 3 and 4 are then operated to cause the toggle bars 21, 28, 29 and 30 to move the posts longitudinalhr toward both ends and the middle partition of the case and force the prongs or teeth carried by the posts to bite in between the sides and bottom of the case and its ends and middle partition, partly drawing the nails and separating the parts secured thereby. The pull rods 5, 6, 1 and 8 are then operated to cause the toggle bars 3l and 32 connected therewith and also with the said posts toforce said posts outwardly to remove the sides of the case. The ends, middle partition and bottom of the case are thus left on the machine, with the bottom partly removed from the other parts. The pull rods are then moved upwardly to withdraw the teeth and return the posts to normal position, and the portion of the case remaining on the machine may then be removed and the bottom knocked off. The nails in these operations remain in the sides and bottom of the case when they are removed, but can be easily forced therefrom by pressing the part against a firm ilat surface with the points of the nails in contact with such surface, or they may be removed in other suitable manner.

The slots for the pull rods and the toggle bars 3l and 32 should be of sufficient width to allow some lateral movement of these members when the corner posts are moved longitudinally, and should also be of suflicient length to permit the toggle bars to move vertically to a sufficient extent to produce the desired lateral thrust. This movement of the toggle bars in both cases will l produce a movement of the parts sufficient for -teeth are less than one inch, and therefore a toggle bar five inches in length having a downward movement at its power end of less than three inches will produce the desired movement at the Work end.

The rods l to 8 inclusive, by which the dismembering mechanisms are operated extend through slots 51 and 58 in the base plate 59, on which the said mechanisms are mounted by having the bottom cross members 4I, 42, 43 and 44 supported thereon and the other parts supported on said cross members. These rods may be actuated by any suitable source of power and power transmittingl means, but as shown are caused to reciprocate by the mechanisms illustrated in Figure 2 in which each rod is connected with a rotary disk having a cam slot therein. 'Ihe rods l 2, 3 and 4, which are first operated to pull their toggle bars and insert the teeth, are connected with disks 6I, 62, 63 and 64 and the rods 5, 6, 1 and 8 which are next operated to pull their toggle bars and spread the side members laterally to remove the sides of the case are connected with disks 65, 56, 61 and 68. Each rod has an angular bracket 69 or 10 fixed to it near its lower end and a short shaft 1I mounted in said bracket and the lower end of the rod in bearings 12, 13, and extends through the cam slot 14 of the disk. Ro'- tation of the disks in counter-clockwise direction pulls down the rods and rotation in the opposite direction raises them again to normal position. to retract the teeth and bring` the other dismembering parts back to normal position. to receive another case or box.

The disks 6I to 64 are keyed on shafts 15 and 16 mounted in any suitable bearing (not shown) and a crank arm 11 keyed on the end of shaft 16 and having a link 18 pivoted at its outer end is provided for rotating the shaft 16 and, through the arms 19 on the shafts and link 8l), the shaft 15. Both shafts 15 and 16 are keyed extension shafts normally held in retracted position by tension springs 8l mounted between pins 82 whichextend through the slots 83 of the splice member 84 where it dovetails and has sliding relation with the adjacent parts of the shaft, to limit the extension movement of the shaft. This extension movement of the shaft is necessary to permit the cams and their rods l, 2, 3 and 4 to move laterally when the side members of the dismembering head are spread to remove the sides of the case. A retracting spring 85 is connected with one of the arms 19 at one end and should have its opposite end secured to a xed part, to rock the shafts 15 and 16 back to normal position or assist therein.

The shaft 86 is adapted to be rocked in a man'- ner similar to the shafts 15, and 16, an arm- 81 keyed to one end thereof and having a power imparting link 88 pivotally connected with itsouter end being provided for that purpose. This shaft is preferably supported in hangers 89 and 90 which may be pendently supported from the bottom of the base or table 59, and have sleeves 9| and 92 which hold securely the overlapping ends 93 and 94 of the shaft sections, to permit them to slide lengthwise to a sufiicient extent to permit the disks keyed thereon and their rods to move longitudinally when the tooth operating toggles expand the corner posts and force the tooth members between the parts of the case to be separated. These parts may be spring or otherwise retracted as may also the parts for operating the teeth.

Any suitable power device may be employed to pull the power links 18 and 88 and the same device may be employed to move them upwardly and restore the mechanisms to their normal or inoperative positions. Thus treadles with sufficient leverage may be employed to move the mechanisms in both directions, or pneumatic, hydraulic or other fluid operated pistons may be used. Such power means are well known and are not shown or described, and are not a part of the present improvements.

The method or process disclosed herein, which may be practiced by other means than those set forth, is a part of the present improvements.

What I claim is:

1. In a -box or case Idismembering or knocking down machine mechanism adapted to be positioned inside the box comprising expansible members, and means for expanding the same in two directions against and for causing portions of the same to be forced in between vertical and horizontal inner walls thereof at connected portions of said walls to separate said walls from each other.

2. In a box or case dismembering or knocking down machine mechanism adapted to be positioned inside the box comprising expansible members, andmeans for expanding the same in two directions against and for causing portions of the same to be forced in between the inner walls thereof at connected portions of said walls to separate said walls from each other.

3. In a box or case dismembering or knocking down m-achine, mechanism adapted to be positioned inside the box comprising expansible members, distensible members thereon constructed and arranged to enter between the connected ends of adjacent walls and in proximity to fastening means in said ends and to withdraw such means from one end, and means for expanding the same against the inner walls thereof to separate said walls from each other.

4. In a box or case dismembering or knocking down machine mechanism adapted to be positioned inside the box comprising expansible members, distensible members thereon constructed and arranged to enter between the connected ends of adjacent walls and in proximity to fastening means in said ends and to withdraw such means from one end, and means for expanding the same against the inner walls thereof to separate said walls from each other and means for operating said distensible members and causing them to enter between said connected ends.

5. In a box or case dismembering or knocking down machine mechanism adapted to be positioned inside the box comprising expansible members and laterally distensible members carried therewith, means for operating the said distensible members and causing them to enter between connected ends of the vertical and horizontal inner walls thereof to separate said walls from each other, and means for pressing said expansible members against inner walls to completely disconnect them from other walls.

6. In a box or case dismembering or knocking down machine mechanism ad-apted to be positioned inside the box comprising expansible members and laterally distensible members carried therewith, means for operating the said distensible members and causing them to enter between connected ends of the Vertical and horizontal inner walls thereof to separate said walls from each other, and means for pressing said expansible members against inner walls to completely disconnect them from other walls, said operating and pressing means constructed and arranged to operate successively.

7. In a box or case dismembering or knocking down machine mechanism adapted to be positioned inside the box comprising expansible members and laterally distensible members carried therewith, means for operating the said distensible members and causing them to enter between connected ends of the vertical and horizontal inner walls thereof to separate said walls from each other, and means for pressing said expansible members against inner walls to completely disconnect them from other Walls, said operating and pressing means constructed and arranged to operate successively, and means for retracting said distensible members.

8. In a box or case dismembering or knocking down machine mechanism adapted to be positioned inside the box comprising expansible members and laterally distensible members thereon, means for expanding the both classes of members against the inner walls thereof to separate said walls from each other, and other means for distending said distensible members.

9. A mechanism of the kind described comprising operatively connected parts for engaging between and separating members of a box united by fastening means adjacent said fastening means and drawing said fastening means, means for moving such engaging means in different directions to further separate said parts and means for returning them to normal position.

10. In a box or case dismembering or knocking down machine mechanism adapted to be positioned inside the box comprising expansible members, and means for expanding the same in different directions against the inner walls thereof to separate said walls from each other.

l1. In a box or case dismembering or knocking down machine mechanism adapted to be positioned inside the box comprising expansible members, and means for expanding the same in different directions against the inner walls thereof to separate said Walls from each other, certain of said expansible members having parts constructed and arranged to enter between connected l members of the said box or case.

12. In a box or case dismembering or knocking down machine mechanism adapted to be positioned inside the box comprising expansible members, and means for expanding the same in different directions against the inner walls thereof to separate said walls from each other, certain of said expansible members having parts constructed and arranged to enter between connected members of the said box or case in advance of an expanding movement.

13. In a box or case dismembering or knocking down machine, means adapted to be positioned inside the box comprising an expansible device, and means for expanding the same in different directions against the inner walls thereof to separate said walls from each other.

LEON MANN. 

